I meant, “Please pray with me that God will show me how to count my blessings and rely upon him.”

You heard, “I don’t need your prayers, I need your money.”

***

You said, “You are a good cook and would do well working for a service organization.”

You meant, “You are a good cook, you could use that talent outside of home.”

I heard, “I don’t know why you sit around all day instead of get a job.”

***

He said, “I am who I am because I am wonderfully made.”

He meant, “I am the person God intends me to be. I long for unconditional acceptance just like you do.”

You heard, “Deal with it, like it or not.”

***

He said, “It was a funny story, not to hurt your feelings.”

He meant, “I’m just trying to win the competition.”

She heard, “I enjoy making you look bad.”

***

She said, “I’ve never asked for anything.”

She meant, “I am blessed by God and have made good choices.”

He heard, “Look at me! Look at me! Follow my example.”

***

She said, “I have no need to apologize. It was not my fault.”

She meant, “I don’t want to apologize, but I know I was wrong.”

He heard, “It’s more important that you believe I was right than to think I stumbled.”

***

We each bring baggage into our relationships. We color what we hear by what we see, or by what we have seen in the past. Whatever you are saying to me now is complicated by what you said last week, last month or even five years ago.

We are all different, we each have weaknesses and strengths; we talk too much but say too little. We listen but do not hear. I need to practice hearing more and saying less.

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Whoa! I love the uniqueness of this piece. You have written a powerful truth here. One that needs to be heeded. Just this week I was offended by some words I heard. What the person said and what they meant were two completely different things and we were able to sort it all out. Thanks for sharing.

This makes me very sad. Wow this is a strong piece that I'm sure everyone can relate to one way or another. My husband and I have very similar exchanges. Thankfully we are slowly learning to ask , 'What did you say?" if we didn't quite get it or it didn't feel right.